People who want to keep tabs on what the Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is up to can attend its next meeting, which is open to the public.

The 14th March Calderdale CCG meeting starts at 2pm, in  the NHS Calderdale premises, 4th Floor, F Mill, Dean Clough,  Halifax, HX3 5AX (near the Travel Lodge hotel in Dean Clough).

There is every reason for the public to be vigilant about CCGs – a British Medical Journal study has just found that one in three GPs who are members of CCGs have financial links with a private healthcare provider; and that this represents a clear conflict of interest for CCGs when they come to commission health care services. For example, the Guardian report on the study says,

“six of the eight GPs on the board of Blackpool CCG have an interest in Fylde Coast Medical Services, the local out-of-hours provider, and five have an interest in Virgin Care, which is part of Richard Branson’s business empire.”

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